UK Politics: The Malice in the Chalice held by the Pfeffel with the Piffle is the Brexit that is true.

[Werthead]

Johnson just confirmed that the government will abide by any law passed. Again, the feeling that he is bottling it, but we'll see later on.

[Chaircat Meow]

I don't want to jinx matters but things seem to be developing today in a way not really in Johnson's favour. 

[Which Tyler]

We should all take a moment to recognise the genius of Cameron's fixed term parliament act, stability has truly been ensured.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1 hour ago, Werthead said:

Philip Lee just quit and joined the Liberal Democrats, removing the government's majority. The UK now has a minority government.

Who cares if you have a legitimate governing body or not when people are afraid to walk the streets due to rampant knife crimes???

[A Horse Named Stranger]

1 minute ago, Which Tyler said:

We should all take a moment to recognise the genius of Cameron's fixed term parliament act, stability has truly been ensured.

Can't they bypass it with a bill (simple majority)?

Anyway, following Westminster circus on Dunt's twitter account. Summary over there is presumably funnier than the real thing.

As for Johnson's majority, don't worry Frogface mistress and redkipper Kate Hoey will make up for that vote, Mann presumably, too. Talking about Hoey, didn't she imply she will run for another party next time around?

[Chaircat Meow]

1 minute ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

Can't they bypass it with a bill (simple majority)?

Anyway, following Westminster circus on Dunt's twitter account. Summary over there is presumably funnier than the real thing.

As for Johnson's majority, don't worry Frogface mistress and redkipper Kate Hoey will make up for that vote, Mann presumably, too. Talking about Hoey, didn't she imply she will run for another party next time around?

Yep but that would be amendable and if the rebels have a majority for the no deal legislation presumably they will have a majority for an amendment to control aspects of the election, such as date. 

[Zorral]

Quote

 

What we are seeing has nothing to do with the British past but a very modern coup in which a demagogic nationalist populist authoritarian leader vaults into power through quasi-democratic means and makes sure that he cannot be removed.

This new method of seizing power has largely replaced the old-fashioned military coup d’etat in which soldiers and tanks captured headquarters and hubs in the capital and took over the TV and radio stations. Likely opponents were rounded up or fled the country. The military leaders sought popular passivity rather than vocal support.

I first witnessed the new type of coup in action three years ago in Turkeywhen it took place in reaction to an old-fashioned military coup. Part of the Turkish army tried to stage a military putsch on 15 July 2016 and provided the then prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan with what appeared to him to be a heaven-sent opportunity to install an elective dictatorship in which subsequent elections and the real distribution of power could be pre-determined by control of the media, judiciary, civil service, security services and, if people still stubbornly voted against the government, by outright electoral fraud.

 

https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/03/boris-johnsons-slo-motion-coup-eerily-recalls-the-rise-of-erdogan/

[Chaircat Meow]

Uber-loyal Nicholas (fatty) Soames (Churchill's grandson) has apparently confirmed he is rebelling. This makes me confident the rebellion will be sizeable enough to get the job done. 

[Werthead]

Johnson's performance was utterly dreadful. When he was dealing with stuff he knew would come up and had prepared statements and notes, he was able to deliver a clear line, but the second he had to go off-script and answer off-the-cuff, he was totally dreadful, bumbling and incoherent and fell back lamely on the, "Well, I can't discuss leaks," excuse far too often. Hammond, Clarke and Corbyn made mincemeat out of him, and Corbyn was hardly at his best either.

2 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Who cares if you have a legitimate governing body or not when people are afraid to walk the streets due to rampant knife crimes???

Who's afraid to do that? I've had several late nights recently in multiple UK cities including London and Belfast and not felt the slightest bit unsafe.

There is a knife crime problem in the UK, caused by the decision by our extremely smart and stable government to slash police numbers and cancel social programmes designed to help deal with deprived areas (some of the same programmes their own predecessor government introduced in the mid-1990s to deal with the exact same problem), but it's not remotely on the scale of "everyone is too scared to walk the streets." That is some kind of BS propaganda.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

So judging from Dunt's twitter JRM must have delivered some solid comedy gold with a pretty self-indulgent speech. I am taking a stab in the dark here, but judging by what I read, I think the goverment might not win this vote.

[Pebble thats Stubby]

6 minutes ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

So judging from Dunt's twitter JRM must have delivered some solid comedy gold with a pretty self-indulgent speech. I am taking a stab in the dark here, but judging by what I read, I think the goverment might not win this vote.

I was half listening to what he was saying.  and kinda worried that he seemed to be making a lot of sense (for him) and being honest for a change apart from the fact he wasn't talking about Team Boris.

[williamjm]

13 hours ago, Jeor said:

I'm with Tony Blair on this one. Boris is clearly okay with calling an election because he knows he's going to be running opposite Corbyn. Having an election after October 31 would be very dicey (he might have the balls to think initially it will be okay if the sky doesn't fall in and he can convince everyone it's all fine), but if he's forced to have an election before October 31 he may as well since he gets the Corbyn bonus. Plus, as much as the Tories are in disarray, at a national and public level the party platform is pretty clear for Boris to parrot - Tories are for Brexit and the "will of the people" and taking decisive action, whereas Labour are all wishy-washy and that nasty Corbyn fella is really weird.

I think Boris is taking a bit of a risk going on so much about how the anti-No Deal votes and an early General Election are all part of a Corbynist plot, because it could end up making Corbyn look like he's more in control of the situation than the Government (even if others have done much of the heavy lifting), which could help Corbyn regain some of the Remain voters Labour have lost in recent months.

4 hours ago, Werthead said:

Johnson just confirmed that the government will abide by any law passed. Again, the feeling that he is bottling it, but we'll see later on.

It is saying something about the current state of politics that such a thing even needs to be said.

[Which Tyler]

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/business-economics/pound-actually-goes-back-up-as-boris-johnson-loses-his-majority/03/09/

 

 

 

In what is undoubtedly a first, the currency was buoyed by the sitting government losing its majority as Tory Phillip Lee defected to the Liberal Democrats today, losing Boris Johnson his working majority of one with the DUP.

 

The pound, which had been plummeting at the twists and turns of Boris Johnson’s no-deal Brexit threat, had slumped to its lowest level against the US dollar since 1985, surpassing a previous 2017 low to be worth less than 1.20 dollars.

 

But following the news that Johnson had lost his majority, it recovered again in what will be a major embarrassment for the Conservative Prime Minister, and leapt back to $1.207, where it ended last night

 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

I feel kinda bad to rain all over the victory celebrations here...

 

 

[Werthead]

Jacob Rees-Mogg's speech criticising the bill was some kind of warmed-up, sub-cod-intellectual bullshit. As Dunt said, JRM's eccentricity is a boon when looking for good talking head soundbites, but put him in front of rather smarter MPs who a command of the details, and he ends up looking like a total fruitloop.

Also weird behaviour lounging over the front bench like Rose wanting to be painted like a French girl:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EDkKmgUXUAI2aMC

17 minutes ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

I feel kinda bad to rain all over the victory celebrations here...

Those amendments will be shot down by both sides without a nanosecond's hesitation, so it's not too much of a problem. If all 17 then voted against the bill, that might then be an issue depending on how many Tories rebel, but given that Johnson's rhetoric seems to have increased the number of rebels, that might not be decisive.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

45 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Who's afraid to do that? I've had several late nights recently in multiple UK cities including London and Belfast and not felt the slightest bit unsafe.

There is a knife crime problem in the UK, caused by the decision by our extremely smart and stable government to slash police numbers and cancel social programmes designed to help deal with deprived areas (some of the same programmes their own predecessor government introduced in the mid-1990s to deal with the exact same problem), but it's not remotely on the scale of "everyone is too scared to walk the streets." That is some kind of BS propaganda.

It was a joke based off of one of our idiot President’s tweets this morning.

[Werthead]

1 minute ago, Tywin et al. said:

It was a joke based off of one of our idiot President’s tweets this morning.

Oh right. Keeping track of one batshit government is exhausting enough, let alone two.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Wait a second, wasn't Stewart supposed to be the Tory with Opium habit? I am not saying, Westminster has a hidden Opium den, but if you have a better explanation for JRM.

[polishgenius]

That speech and this photo will hopefully be the end of Rees-Mogg as any kind of potential force in modern politics.
 

 

[Chaircat Meow]

It is tense but government whips apparently think there 16 Tory rebels and Labour have been saying there are very few rebels on their side. So should go through making way for the no-deal bill tomorrow afternoon.